One Word of Knowledge

There once there was a thief whose job was to steal others’ belongings and valuable properties from their home and houses. His faith was strong and he believed that, in his entire life, he would never hear words of wisdom from any religious or spiritual preacher. He believed that by hearing even one word of knowledge, his business of robbery would become very weak and damaged.

One day, while he was going through a temple area there was a Pandit (Religious preacher) giving a powerful speech on the lifestyle of deity and god, goddess in heaven. The thief completely blocked his ears with his fingers so that even a single word of knowledge would not enter him.

While walking, he stepped on a thorn and reached down to pick it out with his left hand. In that moment, he heard the Pandit say that “No living God or Goddess has a shadow.” Upon hearing this word of knowledge, the thief felt very unlucky and said “Oh! What a wasteful moment this is!”

Anyway, after much time passed he was eventually arrested for being involved with a big robbery at the royal palace of the kingdom. Security personnel tried to get him to admit that he had stolen valuable things from the palace, but he denied everything. The security unit reported this to the King, so her majesty the Queen suggested that she would use her trick to make him surrender the truth.

The next night, at midnight, the Queen went alone to visit the thief privately where he was being held in the Royal Palace. The Queen disguised herself by dressing like the fearful and frightening Goddess Mahakali. With a roaring voice, she demanded “Oh Sinful thief – I am the Goddess Mahakali! Tell me the truth! Did you steal the property of the Royal Palace?”

The frightened thief shivered with fear and decided that he would confess the truth. As he was about to speak, he remembered that he had seen the shadow of the Goddess Mahakali in the moonlight when she came into the room. He remembered the words of knowledge, “No living God or Goddess has a shadow.” Since he had seen the shadow of Mahakali in front of him on that night, he knew that she could not be the real goddess Mahakali.

In that moment, he felt tremendous inner support from the words of knowledge. He responded with full confidence and without hesitation, “I did not steal anything!”

Again, the Queen disguised as Mahakali tried to make him fearful but the thief felt no fear and replied the same again:

“I DID NOT STEAL ANYTHING!”

After some time, the Queen knew the thief would say nothing else so she left. The next day, with the permission of Her Majesty the Queen, the thief was freed from the royal custody.

Because of this incident, the thief realized the true power of knowledge to transform his very troublesome situation into a very favorable one for him. He wondered, “How useful would it be if I heard more words of wisdom?” The answer to this question was profound.

In that moment, his faith and belief were strengthened, and his heart and mind were transformed. He decided that to listen to more knowledge so that he could feel completely fearless in all situations. However, in becoming a devoted listener to more words of wisdom, he completely awakened and went on to live a very happy and fully satisfied life, free from thievery and full of truth.

BK Surat Singh Ayer has been on a path of spirituality for several decades, and in June 1985 he decided to devote his life to the Brahma Kumaries international Institution for the service of humanity. He has traveled to many countries to organize exhibitions, campaigns, rallies and fairs about different inner change topics. He has written spiritual stories, translated spiritual books, written spiritual songs, and recorded meditation audios.

He has received medals and other awards from His Majesty, then King Birendra Bir Birkam Shah Dev of Nepal, for his contributions in social services and moral uplifting of the people. He has had His majesty the Kings, Queens and other royal family members of Nepal present at his services.

BK Surat Singh Ayer has also met His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Sri-Sri 1008 Shankaracharya, Mahamandleshwars The Secretary General of United States, as well as Prime Ministers, Speakers of both the houses, Chief Justices and other Ministers of India and Nepal.

He continues to provide his services at Brahma Kumaries Shanti Sarovar, Academy for a Better World in Hyderabad, South India, and maintains his strong interest in meditation, studying spiritual knowledge, and sharing experiences of deep spirituality through correspondence and other means.